Cyclones Suffer Third Loss of Season to Illinois

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State swimming and diving team (3-3-1, 0-1 Big 12) suffered their third loss of the season to Illinois this evening, 168-132. The Cyclones jumped out to an early 21-15 lead after touching first in the 200-medley relay and the 1000-freestyle, but the Fighting Illini proved to be too much down the stretch.

Despite the loss, Iowa State had a number of notable individual performances including junior Amanda Paulson’s who took first in the 50-freestyle for the 24th time in her career. Imelda Wistey continued her stellar senior season scoring 22-points for the Cyclones with two first place finishes in the 200-medley relay and the 200-breaststroke.

“It was a really up and down meet. I thought Amanda Paulson swam outstanding,” Iowa State head swimming coach Duane Sorenson said. “She had a typical 50-free, but we challenged her with the 100-free, and she really did a nice job with that. She still doesn’t know how good she really is.”

After a hot start, Illinois stole the momentum by sweeping the Cyclones in both the 200-freestyle and the 200-butterfly to claim a 65-47 lead after six events. The Illini were led by freshman duo Gabbie Stecker and Amelia Schilling who combined to score 35-points on the night.

“We knew how good Stecker is, and she is just a fierce competitor – she has always been a great swimmer,” Sorenson said. “We knew that she was going to do something.”

On the boards, the Cyclone divers posted one of their best performances of the 2013-14 season, according to Iowa State head diving coach Jeff Warrick. The Cyclone diving squad outscored their counterparts from Illinois by a total of 26-12.

Senior Jessica Henderson continued to impress as she claimed the top spot in both the 3-meter and 1-meter event with scores of 288.30 and 279.46, respectively. Sophomore teammate Elyse Brouillette took second in each event with a 3-meter score of 283.95 and a 1-meter score of 276.82.

“Overall I was really happy, especially with my top two. They were kind of going at with against each other, and it was good to see them both at that level,” Warrick said.

Iowa State returns to action Sat., Jan 25 at 1 p.m. as the Panthers of Northern Iowa travel to Ames, Iowa.